[Ord. No. 73:12; Ord. No. 76:13]
The Mayor and Council deems it in the public interest to regulate,
control and stabilize rents and create a Rent Leveling Board within
the Borough.
It is deemed necessary by the Mayor and Council in view of the
demand for apartment dwelling units within the Borough that some type
of rent leveling and control be enacted by the Mayor and Council.
Under the Police powers granted to the Mayor and Council, in
order to promulgate the health, safety and welfare of the citizens
of the Borough, a Rent Leveling and Control Board is determined to
be necessary within the Borough.
[Ord. No. 73:12; Ord. No. 76:13; Ord. No.
2016:03]
As used in this chapter:
Shall mean fit for habitation, as defined by the Housing
Inspection Code, and occupied or unoccupied and offered for rent.
Shall mean lawful rent for housing space in effect as of
January 11, 1973.
Shall mean a group of buildings of similar design and construction
under the same ownership or control.
Shall mean the Rent Level Board Coordinator or such other
person who shall be authorized to act on behalf of the Rent Leveling
Board as set forth herein.
Shall mean and include any building, structure or trailer
or land used as a trailer park rented or offered for rent to one or
more tenants or family units. Exempt from this section are motels,
hotels, and similar-type buildings, buildings in which more than 1/3
of the occupied floor space is commercial and housing units of three
units or less. Housing units newly constructed and rented for the
first time are exempted and the initial rent may be determined by
the landlord. All subsequent rents will be subject to the provisions
of this section.
Shall mean an apartment in a building complex.
Shall mean and includes that portion of a dwelling rented
or offered for rent for living and dwelling purposes to one individual
or family unit together with all privileges, services, furnishings,
furniture, equipment, facilities and improvements connected with the
use or occupancy of such portion of the property.
Shall mean the consumer price index (all items) for the metropolitan
New York City area, published periodically by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, United States Department of Labor.
Shall mean the letting of premises for dwelling purposes
and shall include letting under a lease or month to month.
[Ord. No. 91:15 § 1; Ord. No. 2016:03]
a.
Establishment of rents between a landlord and a tenant to whom this
act is applicable shall hereafter be determined by the provisions
of this section. At the expiration of a lease or at the termination
of the lease of a periodic tenant or at the annual anniversary of
a lease for a term of more than one year, if the lease so provides,
a landlord may provide a percentage increase in rent which does not
exceed 2%.
b.
Except as provided in this section, any rental increase at a time
other than as provided for above, shall be void, and any rental increase
in excess of that authorized by the provisions of this section shall
be void.
c.
No tenant shall be required to pay more than one increase for each
12 month tenancy.
d.
Any landlord seeking an increase in rent shall notify the tenant
at least 45 days prior to the increase becoming effective, of the
present rent and of the calculations involved in computing the increase
and the proposed rent. The notices shall also be filed with the Rent
Leveling Board 45 days prior to the effective date of any increase.
The Rent Leveling Board shall advise the landlord of the approval
or disapproval of such increase within 15 days after receipt of such
notice of increase. The landlord shall then notify the tenant of the
current rental. No increases shall become effective without the prior
approval of the Rent Leveling Board or its designee.
e.
In the event of a dispute between the landlord and the tenant with
regard to the rent increase, either the tenant with regard to the
rent increase, either the tenant or the landlord will have the right
to present his complaint to the Rent Leveling Board for hearing by
that board.
[Ord. No. 86:12 § 1]
As used in this section:
Shall mean and include the following items; real estate tax,
insurance, heating fuel, other utilities, payroll, scavenger service,
repairs and maintenance not to exceed seven and one-half (7 1/2)
percent of total gross income (TGI) for all buildings, reserve for
replacements (not to exceed two and one-half (2 1/2%) percent
of TGI) and management and other administrative expenses (not to exceed
6% of TGI)
Does not include:
Shall mean all income resulting directly or indirectly from
the operation of the building including, but not limited to:
All rent received or collectable, including any rent or income
from a less than arms length transaction.
The landlord's share of interest on security deposits.
Late fees.
Parking fees.
Pool fees.
Insurance proceeds less expenses applicable to the insurance
claim.
Amounts received from successful tax appeals in excess of reasonable
expenses necessary to obtain the tax rebates.
Income tax rebates.
[Ord. No. 86:12 § 1; Ord. No. 2016:03]
a.
An owner or landlord may make application to the Rent Leveling Board
for increased rentals in a building based on economic hardship relating
to that building. To qualify under this provision the owner or landlord
must prove that the building meets a minimum threshold requirement,
namely, net operating expenses exceeding 60% of the total gross income
for buildings where the landlord supplies heat and 57% of the total
gross income for buildings where the tenants pay for their own heat.
b.
Application for a hardship increase shall be on the form specified
by the Rent Leveling Board and shall be filed with the Rent Leveling
Board. The following information must be filed along with the application:
1.
A rent roll which lists the rent for each apartment in the building
for each of the four immediately preceding one year periods.
2.
A detailed operating statement for each of the four immediately preceding
one year periods, or if applicant has owned the building for less
than four years, for each year the applicant has owned the building,
certified by an accountant to be true and accurate.
3.
Any other evidence relevant to the application upon which the applicant
intends to rely.
4.
10 copies of the application shall be filed.
5.
Application for increase in permitted rental, per dwelling unit;
$15. The maximum fee for building having seven or more dwelling units
shall be $100 per application.
c.
The applicant must, within 10 days of the filing of the application,
notify each tenant in the building that an application for a hardship
increase had been filed and that all books and records applicable
to the operation of the building are available for review. Such notice
shall be in the form certified or registered mail to each tenant.
The applicant shall certify to the Board that notice has been given.
d.
If the applicant fails to meet the requirements of paragraphs b and
c or the threshold requirement of paragraph a, the Board or its designee
shall reject the application, without prejudice to reapplication upon
completion of the necessary requirements.
e.
If the applicant meets the above requirements the Board shall hold
a hearing on the application no sooner than 30 days, or later than
45 days after acceptance of the application.
1.
The applicant shall notify all tenants of the hearing date as specified
in paragraph c above.
f.
At the hearing the applicant will be required to prove the following:
1.
That the notice requirements of paragraphs c and d have been complied
with.
2.
That the accounting practices used in the preparation of the operating
statements and any other financial documents submitted are normal
and consistent with the guidelines set forth in applicable sections
of the Internal Revenue Code.
3.
That reasonable attempts have been made by the applicant to alleviate
the source of the hardship.
g.
The Board may establish such other criteria as it may deem generally
appropriate or warranted in an individual case, and shall give affected
tenants the right to present testimony or other evidence.
[Ord. No. 86:12 § 2]
a.
If the Board determines that the applicant has met all the requirements
of the foregoing subsection it will compute the following:
1.
The percentage of net operating expenses to total gross income shall
be computed for each of the applicable prior years.
2.
The percentage of net operating expenses to total gross income for
the most recent year shall be compared to the average of the prior
applicable years.
3.
If the most recent years percentage of net operating expenses to
total gross income exceeds the average of the prior applicable years,
and the most recent year's percentage of net operating expenses
to total gross income exceeds 60% for buildings where heat is supplied
or 57% for buildings where heat is not supplied, the applicant shall
receive a hardship rent increase sufficient to restore the percentage
of net operating expenses to total gross income of the most recent
year to the average of the prior applicable years.
b.
In making the computations referred to in paragraph a, the Board
may allow only those expenses which it deems to be reasonable and
necessary for the efficient operation of the building.
c.
The formula for figuring the hardship increase, if the Board has
determined there is a hardship, is as follows:
Net Operating Expense (fourth year)
Three year average percentage (as a decimal) - new rental to
cure hardship. For example, if the three year average of expenses
to total gross income is 64% and the net operating expense in the
fourth year is $10,000 the new yearly rental figure will be: $10,000/.64
- $15,625.
d.
Any hardship increase granted will be expressed in numerical amount.
The amount of rent increase shall be apportioned to each tenant in
a dollar amount per room.
e.
The hardship increase will not be imposed for any more than 12 months
on any application, however, the landlord may apply for a review of
the hardship increase at the expiration of the surcharge. The Board
shall, in its discretion, fix the date on which an increased rental
will become effective, subject to State statutes.
f.
Any hardship increase granted will not be included in base rent for
the calculation of annual charges.
[Ord. No. 87:11 § 2]
The owner of the housing space or dwelling unit being rented
for the first time shall not be restricted in the initial rent he
charges. Any subsequent rent increases, however, shall be subject
to the provisions of this chapter.
[Ord. No. 87:11 § 2; Ord. No. 2016:03]
a.
The purpose of this subsection is to provide a method for achieving
vacancy decontrol while at the same time preventing the harassment
of tenants.
b.
Notwithstanding any limitations upon permissible rent increases under
any other provisions of this chapter, upon the voluntary uncoerced
vacation of a dwelling unit, rent increases for which are controlled
in this chapter, the landlord shall have the right to fix the rent
for such vacated apartment at such sum as he deems appropriate upon
certification by the Rent Leveling Board or its designee.
c.
Upon the voluntary, uncoerced vacation of a dwelling unit and where
the landlord seeks a rental increase pursuant to this subsection,
the landlord shall file with the Rent Leveling Board a certification
approved by the Board, and the landlord shall file a statement under
oath containing the information in subparagraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
and 7, which shall not be affected by this amendment.
1.
That the unit was vacated as the voluntary, uncoerced act of the
former tenant and that such vacation was not the result of any harassment
or pressure by the landlord or his agents, employees, servants or
representatives upon tenants;
2.
Listing the name of the prior tenant with the new address and phone
number of the tenant or a statement detailing the landlord's
efforts to obtain same;
3.
Stating whether there was any litigation between the former tenant
and the landlord; the docket numbers, date and outcome of any such
litigation;
4.
Indicating the length of the tenancy by the former tenant;
5.
That the vacated dwelling unit was in a habitable condition and that
there existed no unsafe, substandard or unsanitary conditions in the
dwelling unit prior to such vacation;
6.
Stating whether the tenant gave notice to the landlord before vacating
the dwelling unit and the date of such notice; and
7.
Stating whether the vacancy was due to a judicially mandated eviction
or a settlement of any eviction proceedings against the tenant and
a specification of the grounds for the eviction proceedings.
d.
The Rent Leveling Board, or its designee, if satisfied that the vacation
of the dwelling was the uncoerced and voluntary act of the former
tenant, shall approve and certify the requested rental increase. No
such rental increase will be allowed for a dwelling unit vacated due
to a judicially mandated eviction for reasons other than nonpayment
of rent unless the landlord shows by clear and convincing evidence
that said eviction was necessary to protect the rights of neighboring
tenants of the vacated dwelling unit.
e.
In the event that the Rent Leveling Board or its designee, determines
that the vacation was not the voluntary uncoerced act of the tenant
or that the landlord has made a material misstatement in the statement
required to be filed with the Rent Leveling Board; the rental for
the dwelling unit shall remain at the rent prevailing at the time
of vacation, together with any increases provided for by this chapter.
[Ord. No. 73:12; Ord. No. 76:13]
At the time of a rental increase, a landlord may seek a tax
surcharge from a tenant because of an increase in municipal property
taxes. The tax surcharge shall not exceed that amount authorized by
the following provisions. The landlord shall divide the increase in
the present property tax over the property tax for the previous year
by the number of rooms in the building complex multiplied by the number
of rooms occupied by the tenant to obtain the tax increase chargeable
to each tenant.
[Ord. No. 73:12; Ord. No. 76:13]
Any landlord seeking a tax surcharge shall notify the tenant
of the calculations involved in computing the tax surcharge, including
the present property tax for the building complex, the total number
of rooms in the building complex, the tax increase per room, the number
of rooms occupied by the tenant and the maximum allowable surcharge.
[Ord. No. 73:12; Ord. No. 76:13]
The tax surcharge each tenant is liable for shall be paid in
12 monthly installments, unless the parties agree to some other period
of payment.
[Ord. No. 73:12; Ord. No. 76:13]
The tax surcharge shall not be considered rent for the purposes
of computing cost of living rental increases.
[Ord. No. 73:12; Ord. No. 76:13; Ord. No.
92:22 § I]
a.
In the event a tax appeal is successful and the taxes are reduced,
the total reduction and refund of taxes received by the landlord shall
be returned to the tenant, and the monthly tax surcharge paid by the
tenant with his rent shall be reduced accordingly. The refund and
reduction in the tax surcharge to each tenant shall be calculated
in the same manner as the tax surcharge.
b.
Any refund received by the landlord less landlord's expenses
of appeal shall be refunded to the tenant as herein set forth within
30 days of receipt of said refund from the Borough.
c.
Landlord shall give written notice to tenants of any refund due to
them under this section at the last known address which is available
to landlord. This section shall not be construed to require publication
of notice or any other extraordinary method of locating tenants.
d.
In the event that refunds are not claimed by the individual or entity
from whose property the refund arose within three years from the date
of payment of the refund to the landlord by the Borough then, upon
certification by the Borough Administrator that such refunds have
not been claimed, shall be presumed abandoned.
e.
Any refund held by a landlord pursuant to this section that has been
presumptively abandoned shall be paid by the landlord to the Borough
within 30 days of written notice by the Borough.
f.
All refunds presumptively abandoned shall revert to the municipal
treasury for general municipal purposes, except as provided below.
g.
A person claiming an interest in any property presumptively abandoned
may file a sworn claim for such property to the Borough Administrator.
The Borough Administrator shall consider each claim within 90 days
after it is filed and give written notice to the claimant if the claim
is denied in whole or in part. The notice may be given by mailing
it to the last address, if any, stated in the claim as the address
to which notices are to be sent. If an address for notices is not
stated in the claim, the notice may be mailed to the last address,
if any, of the claimant as stated in the claim. A notice of denial
need not be given if the claim fails to state either the last address
to which notices are to be sent or the address of the claimant.
h.
If a claim is allowed in whole or in part, the Borough shall pay
over or deliver to the claimant the amount of the claim allowed, with
interest for the period of time monies were in custody of the municipality,
but interest shall not be payable for any period of time before the
effective date of this subsection. The rate of interest shall be periodically
fixed by the Borough Administrator.
[Ord. No. 73:12; Ord. No. 76:13; Ord. No.
87:2 § 1]
a.
There is hereby created a Rent Leveling Board within the Borough.
The Board shall consist of two landlord representatives, two tenants
and one resident homeowner of the municipality, all appointed by the
Mayor with the consent of the Council. All members of the Board shall
serve for one year and until their successors are appointed. In addition,
the Mayor may, with the consent of the Council, appoint not more than
three alternates, one of which shall be a landlord representative,
one a resident tenant of the Borough and one a resident homeowner
of the Borough who shall serve in the event of disqualification or
disability of a Board member. Any member of the Board disqualified
or unable to serve shall be replaced with an alternate from the same
representative group. The terms of alternates shall expire on December
31 of each year in which they are appointed and shall be for terms
of one year.
[Ord. No. 73:12; Ord. No. 76:13; Ord. No.
2016:03]
The Rent Leveling Board or its designee as authorized by the
Board is hereby granted, and shall have and exercise, in addition
to other powers herein granted, all powers necessary and appropriate
to carry out and execute the purposes of this ordinance, including
but not limited to the following:
a.
To issue and promulgate such rules and regulations as it deems necessary
to implement the purposes of this act, which rules and regulations
shall have the force of law until revised, repealed or amended by
the Board in the exercise of its discretion, provided that such rules
are filed with the Borough Clerk.
b.
To supply information and assistance to landlords and tenants to
help them comply with the provisions of this chapter.
c.
To hold hearings and adjudicate applications from landlords for additional rental as determined by Section 11-5 of this chapter and to hold hearings and adjudicate complaints by tenants concerning violations of rental and tax surcharge provisions of this chapter.
d.
To hold hearings and adjudicate applications from tenants for reduced rental as determined by Section 11-12 of this chapter.
e.
To review and adjudicate charges of tenant harassment.
[Ord. No. 73:12; Ord. No. 76:13]
[Ord. No. 73:12; Ord. No. 76:13; Ord. No.
2016:03]
Both the landlord and tenant may appeal the findings of the
Rent Leveling Board within 45 days of its decision to the Mayor and
Council.
[Ord. No. 73:12; Ord. No. 76:13]
a.
During the term of this chapter, the landlord shall maintain the
same standards of service, maintenance, furniture, furnishings or
equipment in the building complex as he provided or was required to
do by law or lease at the date the lease or tenancy was entered into.
b.
An individual tenant or a class of tenants who are not receiving
substantially the same standards of service, maintenance, furniture
or furnishings or equipment may have the Rent Leveling Board determine
the reasonable rental value of the dwelling unit in view of this deficiency.
The tenant or class of tenants shall pay the reasonable rental value
as full payment for rent until the landlord proves that the deficiency
has been corrected. The Rent Leveling Board may withhold rental increases
for a dwelling unit where the landlord has been found guilty of violations
of the Health Code or the Building Code and same have not been corrected
therein.
[Ord. No. 73:12; Ord. No. 76:13]
No landlord shall charge any rents in excess of what he was
receiving from the effective date of this chapter, except for increases
authorized by this chapter for each rental unit, and the lawful rental
charged for such units on January 11, 1973, shall, for the purpose
of this chapter, be the base rental.
[Ord. No. 83:12 §§ 1-4]
a.
All apartments occupied by tenants whose rents are subsidized in
whole or in part by Federal funds shall be exempt from the provisions
of this chapter while such tenants are so subsidized providing all
of the following conditions are met:
1.
Landlords shall not subject tenant to economic coercion or harass
tenant in any other manner whatever.
b.
The landlord shall provide the same standards of maintenance, service
and amenities for apartments of subsidized tenants as for all other
apartments in the complex and/or as required by Federal, State or
municipal law, code or ruling.
c.
Upon the termination of any subsidy for any tenant, the rent for
that apartment shall revert to that level at which it would have been
at the time of such subsidy termination had the apartment been continuously
occupied by a non-subsidized tenant, and that apartment shall immediately
become subject to all other provisions of this chapter.
d.
The landlord shall submit to the Rent Leveling Board a certified
rent roll of such subsidized apartments indicating thereon all of
the following for each such subsidized apartment:
1.
Apartment number;
2.
Name of subsidized tenant;
3.
Commencement date of subsidized occupancy;
4.
Termination date of subsidy contract;
5.
Previous rent of apartment (and whether previous rent subsidized
or not);
6.
Landlord's certified statement confirming the following:
(a)
Apartment conformed to all local building codes and rulings
and was habitable when first occupied by subsidized tenant.
(b)
Apartment occupied by subsidized tenant will receive the same
standards of maintenance, service and amenities during occupancy by
subsidized tenant as those apartments which are not subsidized.
[Ord. No. 81:8; Ord. No. 84:12 § 1]
a.
Anything set forth in this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding,
the owner or landlord of any multiple dwelling as herein defined subject
to the regulations of the United States Department of Housing and
Urban Development contained in Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations,
Part 403, which multiple dwelling is an unsubsidized insured project
or a HUD owned project, all as defined in such regulations, shall
be exempted from the application of the terms of this chapter.
b.
In the event that the regulations of the United States Department
of Housing and Urban Development require a certificate or certificates
from the Rent Leveling Board of the Borough of New Milford in order
for the terms of such regulations to be invoked by any owner of a
municipal dwelling coming within the terms of this section the Rent
Leveling Board shall, upon written application, issue such certificate(s)
within 15 days of any request therefor.
